Published on Mon, Dec 06, 2010 at 08:00 |
Updated at Mon, Dec 06, 2010 at 08:18 |
Source : Reuters
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Spain declared its first state of emergency in the post-Franco era as a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers paralysed airports for a second day.
Passengers camped out in airports across the country on Saturday as the unofficial industrial action threatened to deepen Spain's economic problems.
Spain is carrying out tough reforms and spending cuts to rein in its deficit and ward off market fears it may need a bailout similar to that of Ireland.
Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Spanish airspace would not re-open until Sunday. Airports authority AENA later said some air traffic controllers were beginning to return to work, but the government said it would take 24-48 hours for the system to return to normal.
"The controllers are returning to work and nearly half of the airspace sectors are open," an AENA spokesman told Reuters.
Many airlines, including Spanish flag carrier Iberia and Ryanair, have cancelled flights and are making alternative arrangements for stranded passengers.
"We said that if the situation in the airports did not normalise, we would call a state of emergency. It's clear that the situation has not normalised," Rubalcaba said after an emergency cabinet meeting.
If the controllers locked in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions with the state-run AENA did not return to work they would be breaking the law, Rubalcaba added.
The unofficial stoppage followed cabinet approval of changes to rules on the number of hours air traffic controllers can work per year and of a law allowing the army to take over air space in times of emergency. Unions have also condemned plans to sell off 49% of AENA to raise up to 9 billion euros.
Popular revolt
The army took over control towers after Friday's walkout by controllers, which stopped flights in and out of Spain's main airports, disrupting travel for some 250,000 people on one of Spain's busiest holiday weekends.
"We arrived at the airport at seven in the morning and it was surrounded by military trucks full of soldiers and riot police. They offered to put us on the waiting list but warned us we wouldn't be flying until Monday at the earliest," Esther Rojas said in Madrid's Barajas airport.
The controllers gave no warning before starting their walkout by claiming sick leave and leaving their posts, effectively closing the whole of Spanish airspace except the southern region of Andalucia.
The air traffic controllers' union, USCA, said its workers were not on strike but had had enough. "This is a popular revolt," USCA head Camilo Cela told Reuters.
AENA, on its website, recommended travellers avoid its airports and contact their operators for information.
Public Works Minister Jose Blanco condemned the wildcat strike as "blackmail" and there was widespread condemnation of the controllers' action in Spanish newspapers.
Tourism accounts for about 11% of Spain's gross domestic product and the Spanish Hotel Confederation said the disruption would lead to millions of euros in losses and damage Spain's image as a holiday destination.
Air traffic controllers' relatively high salaries and short working hours have raised hackles in the Spanish media as the country is enforcing painful austerity measure
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Spain declared its first state of emergency in the post-Franco era as a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers paralysed airports for a second day.
Passengers camped out in airports across the country on Saturday as the unofficial industrial action threatened to deepen Spain's economic problems.
Spain is carrying out tough reforms and spending cuts to rein in its deficit and ward off market fears it may need a bailout similar to that of Ireland.
Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Spanish airspace would not re-open until Sunday. Airports authority AENA later said some air traffic controllers were beginning to return to work, but the government said it would take 24-48 hours for the system to return to normal.
"The controllers are returning to work and nearly half of the airspace sectors are open," an AENA spokesman told Reuters.
Many airlines, including Spanish flag carrier Iberia and Ryanair, have cancelled flights and are making alternative arrangements for stranded passengers.
"We said that if the situation in the airports did not normalise, we would call a state of emergency. It's clear that the situation has not normalised," Rubalcaba said after an emergency cabinet meeting.
If the controllers locked in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions with the state-run AENA did not return to work they would be breaking the law, Rubalcaba added.
The unofficial stoppage followed cabinet approval of changes to rules on the number of hours air traffic controllers can work per year and of a law allowing the army to take over air space in times of emergency. Unions have also condemned plans to sell off 49% of AENA to raise up to 9 billion euros.
Popular revolt
The army took over control towers after Friday's walkout by controllers, which stopped flights in and out of Spain's main airports, disrupting travel for some 250,000 people on one of Spain's busiest holiday weekends.
"We arrived at the airport at seven in the morning and it was surrounded by military trucks full of soldiers and riot police. They offered to put us on the waiting list but warned us we wouldn't be flying until Monday at the earliest," Esther Rojas said in Madrid's Barajas airport.
The controllers gave no warning before starting their walkout by claiming sick leave and leaving their posts, effectively closing the whole of Spanish airspace except the southern region of Andalucia.
The air traffic controllers' union, USCA, said its workers were not on strike but had had enough. "This is a popular revolt," USCA head Camilo Cela told Reuters.
AENA, on its website, recommended travellers avoid its airports and contact their operators for information.
Public Works Minister Jose Blanco condemned the wildcat strike as "blackmail" and there was widespread condemnation of the controllers' action in Spanish newspapers.
Tourism accounts for about 11% of Spain's gross domestic product and the Spanish Hotel Confederation said the disruption would lead to millions of euros in losses and damage Spain's image as a holiday destination.
Air traffic controllers' relatively high salaries and short working hours have raised hackles in the Spanish media as the country is enforcing painful austerity measure
(News Center)
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